


A Light In The Wreckage

by vesper93



Category: Green Day
Genre: Adventure, America, Drugs, Explore, F/M, Fear, Gangs, Green Day - Freeform, Live Music, Love, Music, Mystery, Punk, Rock and Roll, Sex, USA, rock - Freeform, thought
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-11-23 07:51:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11398251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vesper93/pseuds/vesper93
Summary: They're both rebuilding after demolition swept through their lives. Can they help each other through the wreckage and the rubble?





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't Burning At... 
> 
> But this is the first thing I've written in nearly two months - so hopefully this will blow my writer's block out of the water. 
> 
> V  
> xx

Billie opened his eyes slowly, wishing he could bring back sleep and escape back into the blissful unreality that came with it. He wondered what had woken him; it wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t have slept on. He could feel a yawn creeping up his throat even now; he’d also been in the middle of good dream when he’d been woken – it had been fairly indistinct, but there had just been a general feeling of better times throughout. There was another bang for the vicinity of the door, and Billie realised that that was what had woken him in the first place. 

He sat up slowly, running his hand backward through his hair, and looked towards the door. He could see someone was bending over into one of the boxes near the main soundboard. The person was slender, and Billie surmised that they were probably female. 

‘Can I help?’ he said to the back that was presented to him. 

The person gave a shriek – definitely female - and banged their head on the soundboard as they straightened up, and turned around. She had her eyes shut as she grasped the top of her head, her eyes watering slightly. 

‘Fuck!’ said a female voice, ‘Sorry! I thought this room was empty!’ 

‘It’s alright,’ said Billie, ‘Are you okay?’ 

She nodded, clutching the top of her head where she had banged it. She had very long brown hair, that was dyed dark blue at the very tips. She looked quite young, although he couldn’t exactly tell from across the darkened room. 

‘Did I wake you?’ she asked, her eyes still screwed closed from the pain. She half opened one and peered at him through the half gloom. 

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘But it’s okay – what time is it anyway?’ 

‘Nearly nine,’ she said, taking her hand away and looking at, assumedly to check she wasn’t bleeding. Satisfied that she wasn’t, she looked across at him properly, appraising his half prone state on the sofa. There was a blanket lying on the floor that he’d evidently kicked off sometime during the night. He couldn’t even remember finding a blanket to lie under when he’d fallen asleep in here. 

‘What’s your name?’ he asked, ‘I’ve not seen you here before’ 

‘Layla,’ she said, ‘I’m new. I just started working for Rob. He asked me to come find some stuff for him.’ 

Billie nodded, ‘Layla…’ 

‘My father was a big Eric Clapton fan,’ she said raising her eyebrows, ‘And my mom just went along with it.’ 

Billie smirked, ‘Well at least he has good taste in guitar gods’ 

Layla smiled, and shrugged slightly, ‘Have you been here all night?’ 

Billie nodded, ‘Yeah, I was working on some stuff late, and I must just have fallen asleep’ 

‘Cool’ she said, rubbing her head again to dissipate the last of the pain, ‘Do you want coffee or anything? When I take this back for Rob I was going out on a coffee run’ 

‘Sure,’ he said, ‘Black, one sugar’ 

‘Need sweetening?’ she asked with a smirk. 

‘Always,’ he said, ‘And especially at this time in the morning’ 

‘Okay,’ she said, turning back around and bending down again into the box, ‘Just need to find this damn lead and then I’ll go’

‘I’ve been meaning to sort that box for ages,’ said Billie, watching as she pulled out various different cables, looking for whichever one Rob had specifically asked for. 

‘I’ll put it on my to-do list,’ came Layla’s slightly muffled voice from under the sound desk. 

‘Good plan’ said Billie, as she wiggled backwards, lead in hand. She cautiously stood up, careful not to hit her head again. 

‘Got it’ she said, ‘Rob wants to test up a new pedal he’s just made, but didn’t have the right lead to connect it’

‘Sweet,’ said Billie, ‘I’ll be interested to see what it does later’

‘Right,’ she nodded, ‘I take you’re in the band that Rob’s working with?’ 

‘That would be correct,’ said Billie slightly bemused, ‘Did he not tell you?’ 

‘Nope,’ she said, ‘He just put out an advert for a low paid sound tech/runner/general dogsbody and I responded. Seemed he liked me enough to give me the gig. I only started yesterday – and that was lumping stuff from his house into a van and then out again here.’ 

Billie smirked at her description, ‘Guess I’ll be seeing more of you around then. I’m Billie Joe by the way. Most people just call me Billie though.’ 

‘Billie’ she said, ‘Awesome. Right, well I’ll just go get your coffee and take this to Rob. I’ll be back.’ 

With that she left, leaving Billie exactly where she’d found him, half sitting up on the sofa in yesterday’s t-shirt. He stretched and stood up. He needed a piss and also to find out if there was a spare toothbrush left lying around. If not he might have to go and get one, or see whether Layla would get one for him. She seemed nice, a little jumpy, but he guessed that was because she was in a new job and wanted to do well. Rob was quite an easy-going guy though, so it would be pretty hard to piss him off as long as she didn’t set the place on fire or something. 

Billie left the studio and headed along the corridor, his bare feet hardly making a sound on the wooden floor. There was hardly anybody in the building yet; he doubted that Mike and Tre would be here for another couple of hours. In a way, he was glad of that; he had little to show them, for all his staying here for hours into the night. He felt as if he was just running into a brick wall head first trying to make these songs sound the way he wanted them to. He felt like he was disappointing them and to see their patience was almost worse than if they had got angry and started yelling. 

He supposed he better head home at some point; pick up some clean clothes. He wasn’t sure he could face it though; knowing that the corridors would be empty, and the rooms would be quiet. He’d have to go soon though; there was only so many times he could wash his pants in the sink. 

‘Morning Bill’ said Rob as Billie exited the bathroom, shirtless. He’d figured he couldn’t wear this shirt again – it really didn’t smell nice. 

‘Morning’ said Billie, throwing the shirt into a dark corner. He’d find it and wash it later – maybe. 

‘Did you sleep here again?’ asked Rob, looking at him. It was probably a rhetorical question; Billie knew he looked like shit. 

‘Yeah,’ said Billie, heading over to a store room where he knew there were some old shirts from the last tour sitting in a box. He rifled through it until he found one in his size and pulled it over his head. 

‘Very fetching’ said Rob looking at him. Billie glanced down and smirked, realising that he was – in fact – wearing a shirt bearing his own face. 

‘Well, I’m nothing if not hubristic’ said Billie with a grin. 

‘Did you have any joy?’ asked Rob, as Billie ran his hands backwards through his hair, trying to make it look halfway decent in the mirror that hung in the corridor. 

‘A bit,’ said Billie, not meeting Rob’s eye in the mirror. 

Rob sighed, ‘You don’t need to bullshit me Billie. Just be honest.’

Billie stopped and turned to look at him, leaning back against the wall, ‘Well no then. I didn’t get fucking anywhere. I was just going around and around in circles.’

Rob grimaced, ‘So have we got anything to work on today?’ 

Billie shrugged, ‘We can try.’ 

Rob looked at him, ‘You need to get it back Billie’ 

‘I fucking know that,’ said Billie sharply. 

Rob raised his eyebrows in his direction. 

‘Sorry,’ said Billie, ‘I’m just so fucking frustrated. I can’t make these songs work.’ 

‘Why?’ asked Rob, crossing his arms across his chest. 

‘Why do you think?’ asked Billie, ‘They’re all about _her_ – and I can’t put the right emotion into those kinda songs right now’ 

‘Well maybe -,’ 

Rob was cut off as the door opened and in walked Layla, carrying a coffee holder with four coffees in it. 

‘Thanks Layla,’ said Rob, taking the one marked with his name from the cardboard holder. 

‘This one’s yours,’ said Layla, pointing as she moved over toward Billie. He took the cup gratefully and blew into the little opening to cool it slightly. 

‘Sorry for interrupting,’ said Layla, ‘I’ll just go give this one to Ben’ 

‘Sure,’ said Rob, ‘And then can you meet me in the rack room?’

‘See you there,’ said Layla, backing out of the room, being careful not to spill any of the coffee. Billie watched her go. 

‘As I was saying,’ said Rob, ‘Maybe you just need to start again. From the very beginning – go back to the drawing board as it were.’

Billie looked at him, slightly shocked, ‘What?’ 

‘You heard,’ said Rob, ‘If these songs aren’t working, then maybe you just need to start again.’

‘But we’ve been working on these for months, all that work -,’

‘Doesn’t really mean jack if you can’t commit to them’ said Rob with a shrug. 

‘The guys will never understand,’ said Billie, his mind running at a hundred miles a minute. 

Rob shrugged again, ‘I think you need to give them more credit. I think they will.’ 

‘I’ll talk to them when they get here’ said Billie, ‘But I’m really not sure.’

Rob pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against, ‘It’s your music Billie, you can do what you like with it. Only you know if it’s working or not.’ 

With that he left, leaving Billie alone with his cup of coffee. He took a gulp of it, allowing the liquid to push through his veins and bring him to a state of wakefulness. He still felt groggy; he guessed that’s what happened when he’d spent the last three nights sleeping on the couch in the studio. His back was stiff and his neck ached a bit. He could tell he was getting older; years ago he could sleep on a concrete floor and get up ready to run head first into the day. Now sleeping on a couch left him aching and uncomfortable. He finished his coffee and chucked the empty cup in the bin. He rubbed the back of his neck and headed back into the studio. 

It was darker inside than in the corridor, and he headed over to the desk against the wall. There was all sorts of notes and scraps of paper littered across the top of it, some of them scribbled over and with a few cigarette butts. He looked at the words across the top of one page and made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He reached over and screwed it up in frustration, before throwing it at the opposite wall. 

He sank back onto the sofa he’d slept on, and put his feet on the low table in front of it, and rubbed his eyes. He was so utterly frustrated. He felt helpless and annoyed, pent up and irritated. He felt like he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but he didn’t think that would achieve much. 

He grabbed a piece of paper from the coffee table and pen before scrawling over the top **I DON’T CARE IF YOU DON’T CARE**. He knew it was fruitless and pointless to be angry. He wasn’t even really angry at her; he understood her entirely. He was angry at himself, for allowing this level of apathy to engulf his life. He hadn’t seen it coming until it was too late, and it had consumed him and everything he held dear. 

He gave another sigh and stood up. He needed some air. He left the space and walked out into the corridor, as he turned left towards the main entrance he walked straight into someone coming the other way. The other person fell back, dropping the notepad she’d been looking at. 

‘Oh fuck!’ came the familiar voice as she bent to pick up the notebook, ‘Oh shit’ 

Billie grinned as he reached out and helped her up again, ‘You need to start wearing a bell’

‘A bell?’ she asked quizzically, looking at him. 

‘So I can hear you coming’ he said. 

‘Oh dear’ she said, looking down, ‘I’m not doing very well am I?’ 

‘I’m not annoyed,’ said Billie with a grin, ‘We just keep surprising each other’ 

‘That’s true,’ she said. 

‘What are you doing?’ asked Billie

‘I was going to the studio to find you actually’ she said, ‘Rob wants to know what you wanted to use today?’

Billie sighed, scratching at the back of his head, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do’ 

‘Where were you going then?’ she asked.

‘Outside,’ he said, ‘I needed some air’ 

‘Alright,’ she said, ‘I’ll be in the rack room when you come back. Just let me know then what you want.’

Billie moved past her and walked a few paces up along the corridor, before turning back. 

‘Come with me,’ he said on a whim. 

Layla hesitated, ‘I don’t know whether Rob would allow it’

‘I’ll ask him’ said Billie, ‘I’m sure he won’t mind. It won’t be for long’ 

Layla half nodded, ‘I’ve got to set up the drum rig.’ 

‘Get Tre to do it himself, lazy bastard’ said Billie with a grin. 

‘Well what would be the point of that? And then I’d be out of a job’ said Layla with an answering grin. 

‘Wouldn’t want that’ said Billie, ‘Alright then, c’mon’ 

Layla stepped up beside him and walked out towards the main entrance hall. The place was spacious and open. The floors were wooden and the ceiling was high. On the wall beside the main front door were several guitars, racked high above reaching height. Layla had stood in admiration for several moments when she’d first walked into the place yesterday. She’d only ever owned one guitar in her life, and to see these just racked up on display had stopped her in her tracks. 

‘How long have you played?’ asked Billie, following her gaze. He hadn’t asked her whether she actually did play, but he recognised the look in her eyes.

‘Ever since I was little,’ she said, ‘My grandad had a guitar, and I used to play on that.’

‘And when was little?’ asked Billie with a grin. 

‘Why do you ask?’ asked Layla. 

Billie shrugged, ‘You look kinda young’ 

‘Not that young’ she said with a shrug, ‘I’m twenty-three’

‘That’s pretty young,’ he said with a smirk. 

‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘Aren’t we going for a walk?’ 

‘Yes,’ he said and then turned back towards the store room, ‘ROB!’ 

The was silence for a moment and then the door opened as Rob came out. 

‘What?’ he asked.

‘Layla’s coming with me. I’ve got to go get a few things’

Rob shrugged, ‘Alright – just bring her back.’

‘Well I wasn’t going to just leave her somewhere’ said Billie. 

‘That’s a relief’ said Layla with a hint of irony. 

‘Go on then, be back before noon,’ said Rob, ‘That’s when the others are coming’

Billie nodded, and turned towards the double glass door leading out into the parking lot. Layla followed just behind him, closing the door quietly as she left. It was cool out, with the morning fog still laying low towards the ground. She vaguely wondered where Billie was thinking of heading, but she guessed it didn’t matter. He’d asked her to tag along, so tag she would.


	2. Two

Silence reigned as they walked. Billie had his hands shoved in his pockets, making his low-rise jeans dip even lower. Layla strode easily alongside him; his stride wasn’t that long and she could keep up, despite his relatively quick pace. She wondered where he was headed; or even if he had a destination in mind. She was glad that she’d worn flat boots today because she sensed that her companion was in the mood to wander. 

Billie pulled a cigarette out of a packet from his jacket, shoved it between his lips and then after momentarily searching for his lighter, put a flame to the end of it. 

‘Want one?’ he asked, proffering the cartoon in her direction. 

‘No thanks,’ she said, patting her own pocket before pulling out a pre-rolled cigarette. She preferred the taste of roll-ups to straights. She lit it with a flick from the red lighter she kept in the same pocket and took a deep drag, feeling the smoke swirling in his lungs. 

‘I prefer those too,’ said Billie, after lighting his own cigarette, ‘But I ran out of tobacco last night. I need to get some more.’

‘Is that what you’ve been surviving on whilst camped out in that room, coffee and cigarettes?’ Layla asked. 

‘Pretty much,’ said Billie, ‘And the occasionally snack Rob throws my way when he notices I haven’t eaten in about a day’

‘How long have you been sleeping there?’ asked Layla, her eyebrows rising. 

Billie breathed out through his teeth, ‘On and off for about six weeks.’

‘And when you’re not there?’ she asked. 

‘Mostly a hotel,’ he said with a shrug. 

She didn’t asked about where home might be; she sensed that that was something he was withholding, or didn’t feel like sharing with her at that moment in time. 

'Where are you from?' he asked. 

'I've lived all over the place,' said Layla with a shrug, 'But I just spent a month or so on the East Coast'

Billie pulled a face. 

'It rained a lot' said Layla.

‘Is that why you moved? In need of some more sunshine?’ asked Billie. 

‘Something like that,’ said Layla, with half a shrug. 

‘Well not sure you came to the right place,’ said Billie gesturing around at the San Francisco fog, ‘If you wanted sun, Los Angeles is probably a better bet than up here.’

‘Yeah,’ said Layla grimacing, ‘But it’s Los Angeles…’

‘Not a fan?’ asked Billie. 

‘Not especially,’ she said, ‘It’s too big, too dirty, and too spread out.’

‘Well that’s true,’ said Billie with a shrug. 

They turned down a road towards a small convenience store. 

‘Do you reckon they sell toothbrushes?’ said Billie out of the blue. 

‘Maybe’ said Layla, ‘And if they don’t, they’ll almost certainly sell gum.’ 

Billie nodded his assent, ‘Do you want anything?’ 

‘If they’ve got any breakfast looking things, that would be amazing’ said Layla.

‘You’ve not had breakfast either?’ asked Billie with a grin. Layla shook her head in response. 

‘Alright,’ said Billie, ‘Won’t grab food here then, there’s a bakery just down the way that does amazing breakfast stuff.’ 

Layla smiled, ‘Sounds perfect.’ 

‘I’ll just go see if they have a toothbrush though,’ said Billie gesturing to the shop. 

‘And tobacco...?’ said Layla, reminding him of their earlier conversation. 

‘Oh yeah,’ said Billie, ‘Good call’ 

Billie disappeared into the store, leaving Layla outside. The pressing fog was muffling noise from the nearby road. It would probably clear later in the day as the sun fought its way out and burned through the cloud. 

Billie was only inside for a few moments before coming back outside, tobacco in hand. 

‘Any luck?’ asked Layla. 

‘Yup,’ said Billie, digging his hand in his pocket and drawing out a tiny mini toothbrush, ‘It’s one of those travel ones though,’

Layla couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter at the tiny purple brush in his clasped fist, ‘Well at least it’ll work,’

Billie chuckled in response and put it back in his pocket along with the tobacco. 

‘The bakery is just down here,’ said Billie, gesturing off to the left down the road. Layla nodded, and her stomach gave a growl, as if it had heard and comprehended the idea of food being presently imminently. 

Billie chuckled at the noise, ‘Same’ 

‘I have to drive like an hour to get to the studio,’ said Layla, ‘And I got up late this morning so I didn’t have time to grab any food.’

‘Where do you live?’ said Billie. 

‘I don’t know exactly what it’s called,’ said Layla, ‘I just figured out how to get down here and that’s about it,’ 

‘You don’t know where you live?’ he asked bemused. 

‘I just moved there, it’s somewhere up near the university. Traffic in the morning's is utterly shite, so I got to leave early’ said Layla with a shrug. 

‘Where did you move from?’ asked Billie, ‘It’s just here’ 

He held the door open for her as they reached the bakery. 

‘Oh this is sweet,’ she said looking about at the scrubbed wood and bare floors, ‘Sorry your coffee this morning came from the starbucks outlet in the local gas station’

‘I figured,’ said Billie with a grin, ‘Oh well, now you know’

‘What can I get you?’ asked the guy behind the counter. Layla was looking down at all the sweet treats and baked goods, her mouth watering slightly. 

‘I’ll have a americano with milk, and a Danish,’ said Billie, talking to the guy whilst Layla was still making up her mind. 

‘Apple?’ asked the guy, ‘Or peach?’ 

‘Such choice,’ grinned Billie, ‘Apple please’ 

The guy nodded with a grin and turned to make the stuff, and get Billie’s breakfast. 

‘And for yourself?’ he asked, when he’d handed Billie his coffee. 

‘I’ll have a large latte with an extra shot, and a pain au raisin’ said Layla, ‘They look amazing’

‘Thanks,’ said the guy, ‘All freshly made here every morning’ 

She smiled at the sales plug as he turned to the machine to make the coffee. It didn’t take him a moment and then he was handing it to her along with her pastry. 

‘Enjoy,’ he said after she’d handed over her money. 

She smiled at him and followed Billie’s back out of the bakery. She to a gulp of her coffee and then nearly spat it out because it was too hot. 

‘Alright?’ asked Billie grinning. 

‘Yeah,’ she said, her eyes watering, ‘Just a bit warm!’

‘That’s what tends to happen when it’s just come out of a coffee machine,’ said Billie sarcastically. 

Layla grinned and shrugged before taking a bite out of her breakfast. 

‘Where are we going?’ she asked, as they headed down towards the river. 

Billie shrugged, ‘A bench first, so I can eat this’

‘Oh,’ said Layla, ‘I’m just scoffing mine like I just stole it’

‘That’s alright,’ said Billie, ‘You seemed hungry’ 

Layla blushed slightly, figuring that he was referring to her stomach growls earlier. 

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ said Billie, ‘From before’ 

‘Question?’ she asked, mouth half full of pain au raisin (she obviously raised her hand to cover her mouth as she spoke).

‘I asked you where you moved from’ said Billie, ‘How long have you lived in Oakland?’ 

‘Do I not sound like a local then?’ asked Layla with a smirk as they reached a bench and Billie sat upon it. Layla moved around him and sat down as well. 

‘Not really y’know’ said Billie with an answering grin, ‘Your voice isn’t hard enough to be born and bred Cali’ 

‘Alright,’ said Layla, holding up her hand with her nearly finished breakfast in one, ‘You got me, take it north and you’ve got my homeland.’

‘Canada?!’ asked Billie, looking momentarily scandalised. 

Layla laughed, ‘Not that far north! Bring it down a bit!’

‘Washington?’ Billie tried again. 

‘There you go,’ said Layla, ‘The rainy state itself’

‘Now I can see why you chose here over L.A.’ said Billie with a grin, ‘Why’d you move?’ 

Layla shrugged, ‘Oh you know, needed to fly the nest and whatnot’

Billie nodded, not pressing her any further. 

‘Have you lived here all your life then?’ she asked, putting the onus back on him. 

‘Yup,’ said Billie crumpling up the wrapper from the bakery and shoving it in his pocket, ‘Oakland born and bred, be here til I die. Except when I’m not’

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ said Layla. 

‘Yeah it does,’ said Billie, ‘I get about a bit with the band.’

‘Oh yeah,’ said Layla, ‘Suppose you must do.’

‘And you still don’t know who you’re working with?’ asked Billie with a grin. 

Layla looked across at him, ‘Is this going to be one of those _don’t you know who I am_ moments?’ 

Billie laughed, ‘No I guess not – I just figured Rob would let you know which band you were working with- or given you a proper tour of the studio’ 

‘Nope, and nope,’ said Layla, ‘Guess he’s go more important things to be getting on with. Go on then, enlighten me,’ 

‘Now it does sound arrogant,’ said Billie, ‘Oh here you go -,’

And with that he unzipped his jacket to reveal the shirt he had on. Layla looked down at his chest and saw his own face, and the name of the band sprawled out across the top.

‘Oh I know that band!’ said Layla, ‘Of course I do – you were all over the radio when I was like 14!’

‘Oh Jesus,’ said Billie with a laugh, ‘Now I feel really fucking old’

‘ _Do you have the time? To listen to me whine?_ ’ sang Layla with a giggle, waiting for his acknowledgement that she was on the right tracks. 

‘There you go’ said Billie grinning, ‘You got there eventually - not sure if I should be offended or not’

‘Sorry,’ said Layla, ‘I just don’t really follow punk-rock bands, and certainly not the musicians _in_ the bands. My dad was more into old school rock, my mum was a metalhead, and when I was in high school everyone was into grunge.’

‘Ah yes, grunge’ said Billie, ‘Where everyone sounds like they’re singing through a drainpipe’ 

‘Hey!’ said Layla, pretending to be offended, ‘They do not!’ 

‘They kinda do though, don’t they?’ said Billie with a grin, at her annoyance. 

‘How can you say that?’ she said, ‘Some of the best bands have come out of the grunge scene – Nirvana, Hole, Garbage, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains… I could go on.’ 

‘Alright, alright!’ said Billie, holding his hands up in mock surrender, ‘I’ll let you off. You are from Seattle after all.’ 

Layla pulled a face and then smiled, ‘Don’t diss my childhood man’ 

Billie smiled and stood up, ‘Come on then, we best be getting back, otherwise Rob will think I’ve lost you or something. We wouldn’t want that to happen again.’

‘Again?’ asked Layla, ‘What do you mean _again_?’ 

Billie laughed, ‘Just kidding! Come on.’ 

Layla stood up and held her hands out for the rubbish Billie was holding. He gave it to her and she jogged over to a bin under a grimy warehouse archway and dumped them in. She could see that not many other people who came down here had bothered, as rubbish was strewn all over the floor. There was also graffiti on the walls, and weeds were growing through the cracks in the pavement.

She turned back around and saw Billie looking up at the leaden sky, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He cut a fairly diminished figure; looking as if he was waiting for the sky to fall down upon his head. She walked back over. 

‘Alright,’ she said, ‘Let’s go figure out what guitars your gonna want today so I can actually set them up’ 

‘Hopefully the others will be there by the time we get back,’ said Billie, setting off at a slow pace, ‘Then you can meet them’

‘That’ll be cool,’ said Layla, ‘Rob’s already warned me.’

‘Warned you?’ smirked Billie, ‘What about?’ 

‘Not to turn my back on Tre’ said Layla. 

‘Well I don’t know what experience he’s had to make him say that,’ said Billie, ‘But that is probably very good advice.’

Layla laughed, ‘Alright then, let’s do some damage!’ 

Billie chuckled, and started to wind his way back towards the studio. She was glad he was there because she would have no idea how to get back without him. They’d turned off down several little side streets to get to wherever they were now, so she hand to wind her way in his footsteps to get back. 

She also made a mental note to make him a mix CD of all the best grunge songs when she got a moment. She was sure he’d probably heard a lot before, but clearly his opinion had yet to be swayed. She was gonna try to change that.


	3. Three

‘Billie Joe told me off for not giving you a proper introduction,’ said Rob as he came into the rack room where Layla was currently stood, pen and pencil in hand. 

‘Oh god, did he?’ asked Layla, embarrassed, ‘I didn’t ask or tell him to do that, honest!’ 

‘I figured,’ said Rob with a grin, his hands in his jean jacket pockets, ‘Come on then, leave that for a moment and come with me. The others arrived about twenty minutes and I guess I should introduce you.’

Layla nodded, pushing her notepad onto one of the shelves and following Rob out of the room. 

‘You’ve already met Ben, obviously’ said Rob, waving over towards the door to the parking lot, ‘He’s out in the parking lot trying to fix a busted tyre’

‘Poor guy,’ said Layla, ‘Fairly sure that’s not in his original job description’ 

‘Yeah, he’s too nice to say no though,’ said Rob with a grin, ‘Probably too nice for his own good. Alright, I think the rest of the guys went this way.’

‘Oh wait a sec,’ said Layla, ‘Sorry, I just thought, if we’re going down here, I might as well bring Billie’s guitar he wanted first thing. I’ve restrung it after he told me that one of them was wearing out,’

‘Good idea,’ said Rob, ‘I’ll wait here whilst you go and get it,’

Layla hurried back off up the corridor, and into the storeroom beside the rack room she’d been in a moment ago. She picked up the guitar case where she’d placed Billie’s Gibson acoustic guitar earlier after she’d finished taking care of it. She wasn’t sure why he wanted an acoustic today, but hey, who was she to question? She returned to Rob a moment later. 

‘Got it?’ he asked. It was clearly a rhetorical question as he could see the instrument case in her hand. He turned and they continued down towards the writing studio where Billie Joe had clearly been living for some weeks. There was a thump and an exclamation of pain as they reached the outside of the room. Rob opened the door to reveal the sofa now on its side, and a person on their front near the edge of the room, having clearly just tumbled in that direction. 

‘Well,’ said Rob pointing, ‘That’s Tre’ 

The person lying on the floor seemed to feel no ill effects as everyone laughed, and he leapt to his feet at the sound of his name. 

‘What happened?’ asked Rob, as he helped Billie pick up the sofa and put it the right way up. 

‘Tre decided to lie on the back of it,’ said a guy with shaggy brown hair, who was standing in the corner, his long arms crossed over his chest.

‘And it didn’t like it,’ said Tre, ‘I’m too fucking heavy!’

Rob chuckled and shrugged, not denying the exclamation. 

‘Well,’ said Rob, ‘That’s Mike - bass, that over there is Jason 1- guitar hero – where’s Jason 2? -,’

‘Having a wank,’ said Tre. 

‘Fantastic,’ said Rob, ‘No but really, where is he?’

‘In the bathroom,’ said Billie Joe with a shrug and then said after a pause, ‘Probably having a wank’ 

Layla couldn’t help but giggle. 

‘And that there is Kenny - general dogsbody’ said Rob, pointing to a guy sitting on a chair in the corner, ‘And everyone this is Layla, she’s our new tech – working for me.’

‘Oh sweet,’ said Mike, ‘Nice to meet you Layla,’ 

‘Hi,’ she said, waving with her free hand at the room. 

‘So, new tech,’ said Tre, ‘What do you play?’ 

‘Guitar and drums mostly,’ she said, ‘But I’ve been in the road with bands in the past doing bass, keys, tech set up, - but I’m sure there are people out there more proficient than me at those though’ 

‘Sweet you play drums?’ said Tre, an excited look in his eye. 

‘Sure do,’ she said, with a chuckle. 

‘Well you know what they say…’ said Tre, ‘Save a drum, bang a drummer’ 

Layla laughed whilst Rob admonished, ‘Tre! She’s only been here a day – can you not try and get in her pants straight away?’

‘Who said I’m trying to get in her pants?’ asked Tre, and then wiggled his eyebrows in Layla’s direction. Billie shoved him, making him lose his balance and fall over again, causing everyone to crack up once more. 

‘So, how long you been techering Lala?’ asked Tre from his spot on the ground, totally unperturbed. 

‘Lala?’ she queried with a grin. 

‘Just roll with it,’ said Tre with a wave of his hand. 

‘Erm, on and off since I was about fifteen,’ she said, ‘But I’ve been playing longer than that’ 

‘Oh, so a good four years then’ said Tre with a smirk. 

‘Fuck off!’ she said laughing, ‘I’m way older than nineteen’

‘Define “way older”’ said Mike with a smile. 

‘I’m twenty-three, twenty-four soon,’ said Layla with a shrug. Mike whistled through his teeth. 

‘Young blood,’ said Tre, ‘I like it’ 

‘You sound so creepy man,’ said Rob with a grin, and then turned back to Layla, ‘Right, now that you’ve met this bunch of dorks, does that satisfy you?’ 

‘I was satisfied anyway,’ she said, ‘But it’s nice to meet you all – Billie, I’ll leave your guitar over here.’ 

Billie nodded, ‘Thanks’ 

She smiled and turned to leave and said to Rob, ‘I’ll go see whether Ben’s finished.’

‘Alright,’ said Rob, ‘And then get back to seeing if you can figure out that board?’ 

‘Yeah will do,’ said Layla, exciting the darkened room. As the door closed behind her she heard Tre’s voice – _‘Well, she’s cute’_ and then another exclamation of pain as someone clipped him around the head. She couldn’t help but smirk as she headed back towards the task in hand. 

**

_I’m just a girl, oh little old me, well don’t let me out of your sight!_ sang Layla at the top of her voice as she sat on the floor, putting an 8 grade mixing console back together. She’d had to take it apart earlier, to figure out why the hell it wasn’t picking up 2 of the 8 channels when Rob had tried to use it yesterday. 

She jumped when somebody touched her shoulder, and nearly dropped the console. She turned around to see who had come in and flicked the pause button on her iPod at the same time. 

‘Hey Billie,’ she said, pushing her head phones off so they were slung around her neck. 

‘Hey,’ he said, ‘sorry I scared you, I tried shouting but you couldn’t hear me’ 

‘It’s okay,’ she said, ‘Do you need anything?’

He shook his head, ‘Do you even realise what time it is?’ 

‘No?’ she asked, ‘Rob came in and gave me some lunch a few hours ago, but other than that’

Billie laughed, ‘I love the fact that you’ve basically been holed up in the dark all day, fixing shit,’ 

‘It’s interesting!’ she protested. 

‘Anyway, it’s like ten’ said Billie

‘Fuck, really?’ said Layla, standing up, her ipod clattering to the floor, ‘Oh fucking shit’ 

‘What’s up?’ said Billie

‘I live with a chick who works nights,’ said Layla, ‘And if I’m not home before she leaves I get locked out’

‘Why?’ asked Billie, ‘You not got a key?’ 

‘Something like that,’ said Layla with a shrug, ‘Oh fucking hell’ 

Billie shrugged after a moment, ‘Slum it here with me’

Layla looked up him, pausing, ‘Don’t you have a house to go to?’

‘Not one I want to be in right now,’ said Billie with a shrug, ‘I was just about to order dinner when I heard you,’

Layla looked around her, mildly panicked by the idea she wasn’t going back tonight. She blew out through her lips and ran her hand backward through her hair once more for good measure. 

‘Is that your stress tell?’ Billie asked with a grin. 

‘What?’ she asked. 

‘Running your hand backwards through your hair’ said Billie grinning as she did it again. She hadn’t even realised that she was really doing it and stopped halfway through another pull. 

‘I guess,’ she said, ‘Alright then, what’s for dinner? Are you the last one here?’ 

‘Pizza,’ he said, ‘And yeah. Mike and Tre have both got their kids to go home to,’

‘Do you not?’ she asked. A look of pain flashed over his eyes and she immediately regretted her question. 

‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘I didn’t mean to pry’ 

‘It’s okay,’ he said, and then added, ‘I do have kids – there just not at home right now,’

‘Ah’ said Layla, and then nodded towards the door, ‘Let’s go order pizza?’

‘Sounds like a good plan,’ he said, and moved back as she lead the way out of the room. 

‘That fucking console will have to get finished tomorrow,’ she said, ‘I don’t know which fucker broke it, but whoever it was screwed it up proper good’ 

‘Blame Tre,’ said Billie with a shrug as she emerged blinking into the light of the corridor, ‘Everyone else always fucking does’

Layla giggled, ‘Poor guy’ 

‘He usually brings it on himself,’ said Billie, ‘Cause he’s the one who usually _does_ break stuff!’ 

Billie sat down on one of the chairs in the big open practice space that was the first area you came to in the building. All the other corridors and rooms led off this space. 

‘Alright,’ he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, ‘What do you want?’ 

‘Definitely garlic bread,’ said Layla instantly. 

Billie grinned, ‘Not planning on kissing anyone later then?’ 

‘Well seeing as I’m stuck here with you until morning,’ she said, ‘I guess not’ 

Billie nodded as if he were weighing up the logic of this claim. 

‘Alright,’ he said, ‘And for pizza?’ 

‘Margherita with mushroom and chorizo,’ she said after a moment’s thought. 

‘Favourite?’ he asked, ‘Don’t fancy something a bit more spicy?’

‘Nope,’ she said, ‘Chorizo’s enough!’ 

‘Anything else?’ he asked. 

‘Beer?’ she queried. 

‘Don’t need to order beer man,’ he said, ‘We’ve got loads here’ 

She giggled, ‘Alright then, I’m just going to the bathroom, whilst you get that. I’ve got no cash on me though, so I’ll have to pay you tomorrow.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said waving his hand in her direction, ‘I’m just glad to have someone to keep me company’ 

‘Fine, well then next time I’ll pay for pizza,’ she said, turning away before he could agree or disagree. 

She walked down to the bathroom and went in. She pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail that she’d had it shoved up in all day, and massaged her scalp with her fingers for a moment or two, enjoy the feeling of the skin relaxing. She then washed her face, and hands, cleaning off some of the days grime. 

She supposed that there were worst places to be stuck for a night, at least there was a shower here and some comfy seats. She’d spent nights in far worse places, that was for sure. She shuddered for a moment at the memory, but then exited the room and headed back up towards the practice space. 

Billie Joe had picked up a guitar whilst she’d been gone, and was strumming a tune on it, his fingers sliding up and down the fretboard with ease. He looked up as re-entered the room. 

‘They said they’d be half an hour,’ he said, ‘Apparently lots of people want fucking pizza at ten pm on Wednesday’ 

Layla shrugged throwing herself into a chair, ‘Ah well, I’m not starving’ 

Billie grinned, ‘I am’ 

‘Did you get what you needed today?’ asked Layla, ‘You didn’t ask for anymore guitars’ 

Billie sighed, scratching at the back of his head a bit, ‘Not really’ 

Layla didn’t speak, waiting for him to open up if he felt like it. 

‘I just feel really fucking stuck at the moment,’ he said, ‘As if nothing is fucking working and none of the words make sense’ 

There was a pause as Billie mulled over his words, tasting how this annoyance felt on his tongue. Layla thought for a moment; about how to make him feel better, how to make herself relax, and then breathed out through her lips as she remembered what she had in her pockets, ‘Wanna smoke a spliff?’ 

Billie looked across at her and then burst out laughing. 

‘Sure,’ he said, ‘Although that will make me even more hungry for pizza’

‘Yeah,’ she said, getting up and repositioning herself on the floor next to the chair he was sitting on, ‘It makes me hungry too. Well hungry and horny’ 

Billie laughed again as she twisted to pull her jacket towards her from the floor where she’d flung it after coming back this morning. She delved into the inside pocket, pulling out her rolling stuff and a twist of resin. 

‘Resin not grass?’ Billie asked, looking. 

‘My guy didn’t have any grass last time I went,’ said Layla with a shrug, creating a roll up. Her tongue poked out the corner of her mouth as she worked; she always did that when she needed to concentrate. 

‘Here you go,’ she said a moment later, handing the spliff to Billie, who lit it, before taking a deep drag, his closed and his mouth shaped into an 'o' as he tilted his head back, allowing the taste to infiltrate his body. He exhaled, the smoke pouring from his lips, and then he handed it back to her. 

She put the end between her lips, drawing deeply down into her lungs. She exhaled slowly, imagining the smoke slowly curling around her body. She knew that’s not how it worked, but it’s what she liked to imagine as she relaxed. She took another drag and then passed it back up to Billie. He passed it back when he was done and stood up. 

‘Right, I’ll just go get some beer and then we’re set for the night!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's liked so far! Comments would be amazingly appreciated! xx


	4. Four

‘It just feels like time has slowed pretty much to a stop’ said Billie, his voice slower than usual due to the drugs. 

He was currently lying on his back, head resting on one of the chair cushions that he’d pulled off the seat when he’d decided the floor was more comfortable. He was staring up at the ceiling, his pupils huge. 

‘What do you mean?’ asked Layla, who was lying opposite him, so that their heads were almost touching. Her brain was processing things a lot slower than normally and she was tracing the stucco patterns on the ceiling with her eyes, they were swimming before her slightly as she waited for Billie’s answer. 

‘Just that, since the divorce, my life has been on pause,’ said Billie, ‘and I’ve been trying to write songs as if everything’s normal. The way I used to. But everything’s not fucking normal, I’m stuck.’

Layla breathed out heavily before raising her newly made spliff to her mouth and drawing it in. She passed it over her head to Billie, who took it from her, their fingers brushing as she passed it over. 

‘I don’t really know what to say to that,’ she said, ‘Not being a songwriter. It sounds serious though.’

‘It fucking is,’ said Billie, ‘Tre and Mike come in and keep looking at me expectantly. I feel like I’m letting them down so much when I see the disappointment in their eyes.’ 

‘Hmmmm,’ said Layla, and then rolled over onto her stomach, looking down at him. His face looked funny upside down, and the weed wasn’t helping with that phenomenon much. His green eyes were startling in the half darkness of the practice space. The more she stared the odder he looked, as her brain tried to make sense of the picture in front of her eyes. 

‘Sounds like you need to get unstuck,’ she said, ‘I know it’s the most obvious thing in the world, but it’s true.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Billie, his brow furrowing as he considered her words. 

‘Well,’ said Layla, ‘What did Einstein say?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Billie, ‘What did Einstein say?’ 

‘It’s not a joke!’ said Layla with a giggle after he’d repeated her words, ‘He said _the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results._ ’

Billie looked at her and half nodded. 

‘Well that seems wise enough,’ said Billie, ‘So what you’re saying is, I need to shake it up?’

‘I’m not saying anything,’ said Layla, ‘I just told you what it sounds like you’re doing, it’s up to you to make your mind up. It’s your record after all,’ 

Billie nodded again, before sitting up suddenly, meaning that they nearly whacked foreheads. Layla dodged backwards to avoid the impact. She fell back giggling, and then rolled over to sit up again. 

‘Come on,’ said Billie Joe suddenly, standing up. He walked over and held out his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. She could feel the rough skin of the calloused palms under her own. They were stood amidst the pizza boxes and and the ashtray that Billie had found on one of the side cupboards. 

‘Where are we going?’ said Layla, glancing at the clock, ‘It’s nearly 3am!’ 

‘So?’ said Billie with a shrug, ‘You got somewhere to be?’ 

‘No,’ said Layla with a giggle, ‘I was planning to sleep at some point though’ 

‘Ah fuck it,’ said Billie, ‘We can do that later’ 

‘Some of us don’t work rock and roll hours,’ said Layla with a grin. 

‘Rob won’t give a shit,’ said Billie with a shrug, heading towards the door and throwing it open, before stepping out into the night. 

Layla laughed and hurried after him out into the parking lot. 

‘Billie, surely you’re not going to fucking drive?!’ said Layla, as Billie pulled his car keys out of the pocket of his leather jacket, that he had slung on over his hoodie. 

Billie paused for half a second before putting them back, ‘Yeah you’re right, I guess that wouldn’t be a good plan’ 

‘You fucking think?!’ Layla laughed, motioning to the spliff that was still between his lips. 

Billie’s eyes scanned the dark lot, spying a pushbike that was leaning against the wall. Some unwary person had left it there overnight, unlocked. That could never be a good plan. 

‘Who’s is this?’ he asked. 

‘Not a clue,’ said Layla with a shrug. 

‘Well it’s mine now, at least for right now,’ laughed Billie, grabbing the pushbike, ‘Alright, hop on’ 

Layla got on the front of the bike, sitting on the crossbar, whilst Billie clambered onto the seat behind her. His arms came around her and gripped the bars as he pushed off and they sped out the lot. The wind whipped into Layla’s face and she thought it was a miracle that Billie could see where he was going with her hair flying about. 

‘It’s a good thing I’m light!’ Layla yelled, as they sped forward. 

‘What?!’ shouted Billie, his voice much too loud in her ear. Clearly he couldn’t hear her as she was facing forward into the wind. She shook her head to let him know she wasn’t going to shout again. 

She wondered where they were going. Billie seemed to have a destination in mind, but wherever it was he wasn’t sharing. He was surprisingly speedy through the streets, and Layla was thankful there wasn’t anybody else about, despite this being an unpowered vehicle, she wasn’t sure Billie’s reaction times would stand up to someone stepping out suddenly into the road. 

Billie braked suddenly as they reached the park near the top of Lake Merritt causing Layla to nearly fly over the handlebars, but Billie grabbed at the back of her hoodie, and she managed to stay put. She burst out laughing as she managed to find her feet and get off the bike. 

‘Elegant’ observed Billie, as she got her foot stuck in a bit of the crossbar and nearly fell over. She straightened up and looked at him before swearing in his direction, causing him to giggle. 

‘I can’t believe I actually made it here in one piece!’ laughed Billie Joe, as they headed down the grassy bank towards the edge of the dark water that stretched out into the distance. 

‘It’s a good thing nobody fucking pulled us over,’ said Layla giggling to herself.

‘Can they pull you over on a bike?’ asked Billie, his hands shoved in his pockets. 

‘Pretty sure it still counts a vehicle, Billie,’ said Layla, looking across at him. 

‘Yeah, I already got one DUI last year,’ said Billie his eyes rolling towards the heavens, ‘Don’t need another one’ 

‘Probably not,’ Layla agreed with a smirk. 

The lights of the city stretched away from them around the edge of the lake, casting dancing lights on the reflective surface. 

‘It is pretty down here,’ said Billie, as a cool breeze blew over them. It was a cloudless night, but the light pollution was preventing any view of the stars in the inky heavens that stretched above them. 

‘Yes,’ said Layla, breathing out looking at the view, ‘I used to like going down to the water in Seattle. It was similar to this.’ 

‘Colder though,’ observed Billie. 

‘Tends to happen the further north you go,’ said Layla with a grin, as they reached the lip of the lake, the black water stretching away from them.

‘Does it scare you?’ asked Billie, looking at the dark reflective surface. 

‘A little’ Layla admitted. 

‘Same,’ said Billie, ‘Anything could be down there, just waiting.’

‘Fairly sure there’s no dark and mysterious monster in the Lake,’ said Layla, ‘But I guess you never know.’ 

Billie smiled and sat down heavily on the floor, looking out across the lake, his eyes unmoving as the surface rippled under the light breeze. 

‘Did you bring a lighter?’ asked Billie, ‘I went out on the way’

Layla giggled and looked in her pockets, ‘I’m amazed you managed to keep hold of it’

‘Tucked it behind my ear, didn’t I?’ said Billie, ‘Safe and sound in the hood.’

‘You’ve clearly practiced that,’ said Layla, finding a lighter and flicking it towards the end of the spliff. Billie breathed in to make it catch and the glow lit up his eyes momentarily as it caught. He closed eyes as he took a drag and took another hit. 

‘Tonight’s been nice,’ he said after a moment. 

‘What do you mean?’ Layla said, her arms hanging loosely around her legs as she sat, her boots digging her toes into the soft muddy sand under the soles. 

‘Well it’s nice to have some company,’ said Billie, ‘Normally everyone fucks off at night and I’m on my own,’

Layla nodded, ‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ 

‘Hmmm’ said Billie, ‘So why don’t you have a key to your place?’

Layla shrugged, ‘I live above a shop – for want of a better word – and after that gets locked up, I can’t get in without Rayna – she’s my roommate’ 

‘Sounds shit,’ said Billie. 

‘It’s cheap’ said Layla with a shrug, ‘And all I could afford when I got here’ 

‘I know how that feels,’ said Billie. 

‘It’s alright for what I needed it for,’ said Layla, ‘A place to lay my head’ 

‘Hmmm,’ agreed Billie, and then after a pause, ‘So why did you leave Seattle?’ 

Layla paused, looking across at him before shrugging, ‘Oh you know, this and that, needed to see the world etc.’ 

‘So you came to Oakland?’ asked Billie cracking a grin. 

‘I came where I thought there’d be work’ Layla corrected. 

Billie nodded in agreement and then raised his arms to yawn, his clenched hands moving close to Layla’s face. Layla flinched away from him as he moved. 

‘What was that? asked Billie looking disconcerted, his yawn interrupted. 

‘Nothing,’ said Layla, ‘Just shivered’

‘Don’t bullshit,’ said Billie, ‘You flinched. Why did you flinch away from me?’ 

Layla started to stand up, beginning to brush herself off, ‘Look it was nothing, alright?’ 

‘Alright, alright,’ said Billie catching her wrist, ‘Don’t get mad. I’m sorry I pushed it.’

Layla looked down at him and her expression mollified a little, ‘It’s alright’ 

She sat down again heavily, ‘Sorry I snapped’ 

Billie nodded, patting awkwardly at her wrist, before letting go and wrapping his arms around his knees. Layla followed the direction of his gaze, watching the ripples move with the breeze. 

**

Layla had no idea how they made it back to the studio in one piece, or how Billie managed to stay awake to pedal the bike; she felt absolutely dog tired. And now the effects of the drugs had worn off she felt it even more so. They walked back in through the door just as the sky was lightening, and streaks of pink were crawling from the east. 

Layla collapsed straight onto the chair cushion that Billie had pulled off the chair earlier that night. She laid her head on it and promptly fell asleep, her eyelids heavy and her mind slow. The last thing she noticed before she fell asleep was Billie putting some kind of cover over her. She murmured her thanks and then sleep washed over her.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for roxywrites, who left me such a nice comment on the last chapter! :) 
> 
> Hope you like it! Any comments/feedback is very much appreciated! 
> 
> V  
> xx

‘Wake up sleeping beauty!’ 

A voice permeated her sleeping senses and she groaned a little as she opened her eyes to see Tre standing over her, his smile wide. The studio was quiet around them, and she wondered how long she had been asleep. 

‘Oh god,’ she said, trying to bring herself around to the land of the wakefulness, ‘What time is it?’ 

‘Nearly noon’ said Tre with a smirk as he crouched down onto his haunches. 

‘Oh fuck!’ she said shooting up and sitting up straight, nearly hitting Tre in the face, the blanket Billie had laid over her the night before sliding off. She was still wearing her shirt and jeans from the night before thankfully, having been too tired to take them off at dawn when they returned. 

‘It’s alright,’ said Tre, ‘Chill out. Rob had to go to LA for some important meeting with the label and Ben went with him, so you’re safe with me. I won’t tell him you didn’t wake up bright and early.’ 

‘Oh Jesus,’ she groaned, falling back onto the makeshift pillow of her jacket, ‘I thought I’d been fired for sure.’

‘Who says I won’t fire you?’ Tre teased, causing her to open one eye and look at him carefully. 

‘Can you even do that?’ she questioned. 

‘Probably not,’ said Tre grinning, ‘Where’s Prince Charming then?’ 

‘Who?’ said Layla, still half asleep, her eyelids heavy. 

‘Billie boy,’ said Tre, ‘I know he sleeps here 95% of the time, so I’m guessing he’s around here somewhere.’ 

‘I don’t know,’ said Layla sitting up again, ‘He disappeared after we came back last night,’ 

‘He’s probably still asleep somewhere then,’ said Tre, ‘Where did you go?’ 

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to dispel the sleep, ‘Just somewhere up near Lake Merritt – Billie cycled there.’ 

Tre let out a huff of laughter, ‘Cycled?’ 

‘Yeah,’ said Layla, ‘I sat on the front, and we cycled up there after smoking rather a lot of pot.’ 

‘I think that’s probably the only exercise Billie has done in years – other than diving about on stage of course,’ said Tre. 

‘Well he was pretty fast either way,’ said Layla yawning. 

‘Do you want coffee?’ asked Tre standing back up. 

‘Yes please,’ said Layla, ‘Are you offering?’ 

‘Well we can either have the instant shit that I can make in the kitchen,’ said Tre, ‘Or we can take a walk to the bakery and get some.’ 

‘That sounds like a much more appealing prospect,’ said Layla, ‘But hadn’t we better find Billie and see if he wants to come?’ 

‘Probably a good idea chick,’ said Tre. 

‘Where do you reckon he’ll be?’ asked Layla getting up and stretching, she sniffed surreptitiously at her shirt and found it wasn’t too bad. 

‘Probably in the studio,’ said Tre, ‘It’s where he usually sleeps. Buried away with his notebook and the piano; torturing himself over the lack of forthcoming words.’

Layla looked across at Tre, surprised, ‘He told you that?’ 

‘No,’ said Tre, with a shrug, ‘But it’s pretty obvious to see.’

She paused looking across at him. Clearly Tre and Mike knew more about what Billie was going through than he thought they did. It was as she said to him last night – that he should give them more credit. 

She looked down at herself, ‘I’ve not got a change of clothes,’

Tre looked across at her, ‘I’m sure we can find a spare t-shirt somewhere, and there are showers in the bathroom,’

Layla nodded, ‘Thank you’ 

‘No problem,’ said Tre with a shrug, ‘Now let’s go find our Prince’ 

Layla smiled and headed after him down towards the studio. There were no lights on down here, which suggested that Billie hadn’t emerged since disappearing last night. Tre didn’t bother to knock on the door, but just went straight in. The room was dark, apart from some of the lights from the sound board and a computer. From the hunched shape that was by the desk, Layla could tell that Billie was asleep on the table top. Tre’s hand headed towards the light switch for the room, but Layla caught his arm before he flicked it on. 

‘Wait,’ said Layla softly, ‘Let me, I’ll bring him up in a moment.’

Tre looked across at her and smirked, causing Layla to pull a face in his direction, ‘Alright’

‘I just don’t think it’s a good idea to wake anyone with the subtlety of a brick to the head!’ whispered Layla furiously. 

‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Tre, holding up his hands, ‘I believe you’ 

With that he disappeared back up the corridor, whistling tunelessly. Layla turned back towards the silhouetted shape; Billie looked like he’d fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion where he sat. She walked over to the desk without turning the light on, stepping over various bits of equipment that was on the floor. Billie’s face was turned towards her, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. He was clearly sleeping deeply. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him very gently. It took him a moment to wake to her shaking, and his eyes opened slowly. 

‘Uh,’ was all he said at first, and then croaked out, ‘Morning Layla,’ 

‘Hey Billie,’ she said softly, ‘And apparently it’s not morning anymore’ 

‘Isn’t it?’ he asked, sitting up slowly and stretching, ‘What time is it?’ 

‘Sometime after noon,’ said Layla, ‘Tre woke me up’ 

‘Ah shit,’ he said, rubbing his eyes, ‘You didn’t get in shit with Rob did you?’ 

‘Rob’s not here,’ said Layla, ‘Luckily. He some important meeting in LA with the label.’ 

‘Oh yeah,’ said Billie, recognition crossing his face, ‘I remember him telling me – apparently, we’re not delivering what we should be on time.’

He shrugged a little, his face looking troubled in the shadow of the room. 

‘Anyway,’ said Layla changing the subject, ‘I came down here to see if you wanted to walk to the bakery with Tre and I and get coffee?’ 

Billie grinned sleepily, ‘Sounds like exactly what I need,’ 

He stood up slowly and stretched, making a noise of delight as the sleepiness was squeezed out of his bones. 

‘Did you get anything done?’ asked Layla quietly, looking at the scraps of scrumpled paper that were on the desk and on the floor around the chair. 

Billie screwed up his mouth in a look of distaste, ‘I had one idea… I’m going to see where it goes though. I’m not sure about it yet.’ 

Layla nodded, knowing that Billie would share his idea if and when he wanted to. 

‘Come on then,’ he said, ‘We can both look like left over hobos’ 

‘Cheers Billie,’ said Layla with a grin. 

‘You know what I meant,’ said Billie with a smile as they left the room, ‘Lack of sleep and too much weed makes for a caveman in the morning.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ said Layla, ‘I’m as fresh as a daisy’

‘Yeah, a daisy that’s been trod on,’ came Tre’s disembodied voice from just up ahead. 

‘Oh gee you guys are so complimentary today,’ said Layla as her and Billie stepped into the main room where she had spent the night. 

‘Sorry Lala,’ said Tre with a grin that showed he didn’t mean it at all, ‘Are we going to go get coffee then?’ 

‘Yes,’ said Billie, hiding a yawn behind his hand, ‘Where’s Mike?’ 

‘Did you forget Estelle’s here at the moment?’ asked Tre, ‘He said he was gonna bring her down at some point. He’s got to be with her this morning and then she’s going to a friend’s.’ 

‘Oh yeah,’ said Billie, ‘Sorry man, my head’s all over the place.’ 

Tre didn’t say anything, just raised his eyebrows in Layla’s direction as they headed out the building and down the road towards the bakery. Layla felt in her pockets for her wallet and was glad to find it where she’d left in the back of her jeans. She didn’t have much cash left and would have to go back to her sleeping place soon to sort herself out. She wondered when Rob would be back. Obviously, she’d finish fixing the console when they got back to the studio, and she was fairly sure that there was some of Billie’s pedals needed fixing. The fresh air was nice as they walked, with a cool breeze blowing in their faces from the direction of the bay. 

‘Why were you at the studio last night Lala?’ asked Tre as they walked. 

‘Got carried away,’ said Layla, ‘Lost track of time whilst I was fixing a damn console. Billie asked me to hang out and eat pizza, so I did.’

‘And smoke’ said Tre with a grin.

‘Of course,’ said Billie with a smirk, ‘Can’t smoke without pizza… hold on, that’s not the right way round is it?’ 

Layla laughed, ‘It was good shit though – mine I might add.’

‘Billie!’ Tre admonished, his eyes wide, ‘You never smoke a lady’s stash first!’ 

Billie laughed, ‘Well I wouldn’t have done – but [i]someone[/i] smoked all I had last weekend’ 

‘Oh yeah’ said Tre clearly remembering the time he took it, ‘Sorry about that. I’ll get Kenny to bring us some more whenever he shows up.’ 

‘Good idea’ said Billie rolling his eyes as they turned down the street where the bakery was located. Layla smirked at this exchange and just shrugged at Tre who raised his eyebrows. 

‘I always get hungry when I smoke,’ said Tre, ‘Hungry and horny’ 

‘Same’ said Billie yawning again. 

‘Who knew?’ said Layla with a grin, ‘Some would think it was supposed to do that’

‘I thought it was supposed to chill you out,’ said Tre, ‘Not give you the munchies’ 

‘Well you tell me,’ said Layla, ‘You’ve been smoking it longer than I have!’ 

‘Alright’ said Billie, ‘No need to remind us that we’re old!’ 

‘I never said that’ said Layla with a grin, ‘Those words never passed my lips. How old are you anyway?’ 

‘Twenty-nine, yeah baby!’ laughed Tre. 

‘For another month!’ said Billie.

‘Still twenty-nine grandad,’ crowed Tre as Billie aimed a swipe at him. Layla giggled as Tre dodged out of the way and hid behind her. Layla reached out to open the door of the bakery and they stepped into the warmth. Layla was grateful for the smell of food and coffee that instantly washed over her and her mouth began to water as she contemplated breakfast. 

**

‘Are you gonna go home tonight?’ Layla asked Billie as they sat on the sofas in the main room. It was approaching the evening, Tre had gone out with some other friends. Mike had never showed up because the cover for Estelle had bailed at the last minute. Billie didn’t say anything in response to Layla for a moment, but his frown deepened a little. 

‘I really don’t want to go there on my own,’ said Billie, ‘I know that sounds pathetic…’

‘It doesn’t’ said Layla with a shrug, ‘But you’re probably gonna have to at some point. I mean, I know I only met you yesterday, but if you want… I could come with you? Just so you don’t have to go alone?’

Billie contemplated that for a moment before slowly nodding, ‘Yeah, perhaps that could work. It would be nice to be there with someone - so it wasn't quite so silent.’

Layla nodded and breathed out heavily, ‘I’ve got to go back to my place first, to let Raina know I am actually still alive.’

Billie nodded, ‘Alright – are you done for the day?’ 

‘Yeah,’ said Layla, ‘Do you wanna go?’ 

‘Might as well,’ said Billie, ‘Although can you grab Floyd before we go?’ 

‘Sure,’ said Layla, having a momentary pick up as she remembered that Floyd was the name of one of his favourite guitars – something he had told her yesterday, but that she would have to work to remember. At least at first. She went and got the guitar from the rack room, making sure it was stored securely in its case before grabbing her jacket and bag. 

‘Do you wanna drive?’ said Billie, ‘I’ll just direct you to mine after we’ve swung by your place,’ 

‘Um okay,’ said Layla, figuring that this would be easier than taking two cars, ‘My car’s a bit of a mess though’ 

Billie smirked and shrugged, ‘I don’t care’ 

‘Alright then,’ said Layla, fishing in her pocket for her car keys with her free hand, ‘Let’s go’ 

Billie made a mock salute, and picked up Floyd. Layla had been leaning down to pick it up at the same time but Billie got there first. 

‘I know you’re my tech,’ said Billie with a grin, ‘But I can carry my own guitar’ 

‘I know, I know’ said Layla walking towards the door, ‘It’s just habit – one of the guitarists in a band I was working for on the East Coast used to get really tetchy if I made him carry anything.’

‘He sounds like an asshole,’ said Billie as they stepped outside and Billie carefully locked up the building. Layla didn’t have a key to the studio, nor did she expect to be given one. She’d have to make sure that someone was here first every time she needed to come in. 

‘Alright,’ said Layla, as they walked over to her car, ‘Billie this is Bess… she’s been with me since I was sixteen. So be nice.’ 

Billie grinned, ‘Bess?’ 

‘My best friend in high school used to call her that,’ said Layla, opening the doors, ‘And it just kinda stuck’ 

Billie shrugged, ‘Alright then’

He put Floyd in the boot, and then got in the passenger seat, whilst Layla chucked her bags in the back and got in. 

‘Okay, home,’ she said more to herself than to Billie. Billie smiled and reached for the radio, tuning it to one of his favourite stations before relaxing back in his chair and his eyes starting to close. Layla glanced over at him as she drove out of the parking lot; she’d known this guy for two days, but for some reason he trusted her. She wasn’t quite sure why, but it was nice. She didn’t really have anybody in Oakland – the people she lived with were a convenience, and they didn’t make any attempts to get closer to her. She paid them money and that was all they cared about. The isolation had been nice – not to mention extremely useful – when she’d first arrived, but she couldn’t help but find a little bit of joy in the casual human contact that Billie was bestowing on her. She turned onto the main road towards the university, and put her foot down on the pedal.


	6. Six

Six

‘I know it doesn’t look like much…’ Layla tailed off apologetically after she had parked (or more like abandoned) her car in an empty lot that was more of a dustbowl than anything else. There was no reason to park up properly – nobody else would try and park there. They were headed towards a rundown building that housed a corner shop on the bottom floor. The paint on the outside was peeling off the walls, but other than that it looked alright from the outside. 

‘It has a roof, and walls’ said Billie Joe with a shrug, walking beside her, ‘Fairly similar to what I had when I first left home.’ 

‘Yeah,’ said Layla, ‘And it’s cheap’

‘I did have Mike to live with me though,’ said Billie, ‘We found a warehouse down near the docks though. It was a kind of paradise in and of itself.’ 

‘Yeah, I can imagine that,’ said Layla, ‘How old were you?’ 

‘Eighteen,’ said Billie, ‘Just got back from our first tour and couldn’t bear the thought of going back to live with my mother’s cunt of a boyfriend.’ 

Layla nodded understandingly. Billie hitched his guitar further up his shoulder, and looked around. He glanced up the road but there were no cars driving in this direction. This was a dodgy part of town, and not many people tended to wander around here. Layla reached out for the door of the corner store and turned the handle. It was locked. The blinds weren’t drawn down though, so it looked like there should be someone about. 

‘Hey!’ said Layla knocking on the door, ‘Hey, Rudy?!’ 

‘Is it alright?’ said Billie, looking over from his place leaning against the wall. 

‘Yeah,’ said Layla frowning, ‘They’re just not usually locked up at this time of night.’ 

Layla knocked again, ‘Rudy!’

‘Alright, alright, I’m coming!’ yelled a reply from upstairs. She heard footsteps on the inside of the door, saw Rudy approaching from the inside, and then a key turn in the lock. 

‘What’s up Rudy?’ said Layla as the door opened to reveal a gruff looking man, probably in his mid-forties. He was well built, however, and had the lean physique of someone who still liked to take care of himself. Layla wasn’t in the least bit scared of him, despite his outward appearance.

‘Nothing’s up’ said Rudy, ‘Shop was dead though so we closed up early’ 

‘Is Raina not about?’ asked Layla as she stepped inside, ‘She normally leaves it open for me until she goes out.’

‘She’s working today,’ said Rudy with a shrug, ‘Don’t ask me why – she’s normally still asleep at this time’

‘Wasn’t going to’ said Layla, holding up her hands, ‘Don’t want to know’ 

‘Who’s the john?’ asked Rudy, dragging on a cigarette as they walked past him towards the stairs at the back of the shop. 

‘He’s not a john,’ said Layla walking upstairs and then turning to Billie she mouthed “sorry”. Billie just shrugged and followed her up the stairs. She opened a door on the left, which lead to her “room”. In reality she shared it with Raina, but seeing as she never saw her there it didn’t really matter. Raina’s bed was in the corner. Currently it was unmade with the covers thrown back towards the end, but the occupant was nowhere to be seen. Her makeup was strewn over a table under a mirror by the door. 

In the room other than Raina’s stuff there was a bed, a small closet, and a couple of bags around the end of the mattress. This was all Layla had in the world. 

‘It’s not much,’ said Layla with a shrug, ‘But it’s all I got. It’s all I could bring with me when I left Seattle.’ 

Billie looked around, ‘Could?’ 

Layla waved her hand to push away the turn of phrase, ‘There’s only so much one girl can carry, right?’ 

‘Hmmm,’ said Billie, as Layla walked over to her draws and pulled out some clean clothes to shove into her bag. She didn’t really look at what she was grabbing, but she couldn’t go far wrong with some jeans, a clean top and some underwear. 

‘You don’t mind me showering at yours?’ said Layla, ‘You sure? I mean I could sort myself out here before we go.’ 

‘Nah, it’s fine,’ said Billie.

‘Alright,’ she said, ‘Well, that’s all I need.’ 

‘Okay then’ said Billie, casting his eyes around the room one last time before they stepped back out into the hallway. They went back downstairs, and Layla saw that Rudy had moved to the till where he was counting out the days take. He didn’t even acknowledge Layla as they walked past and out the door. 

‘He seems nice’ said Billie sarcastically looking across at Layla. 

‘Oh delightful’ said Layla, ‘But he rarely bothers me’ 

Billie paused for a second, ‘He’s a pimp though right?’ 

Layla smirked, ‘Didn’t miss that then?’ 

‘It’s hard to miss,’ said Billie, ‘I take it Raina is a whore then?’

‘I think she prefers the term ‘call girl’’ said Layla, unlocking her car and getting in, throwing her bag on the back seat. 

‘Right, where are we going?’ said Layla, starting the engine. 

‘Head back to the main road,’ said Billie, ‘and I’ll direct you from there’ 

Layla nodded and turned the car away from the building where she laid her head of an evening. 

**

‘Are you alright?’ said Layla. 

They were sitting on a road in front of a high hedge that was concealing a house and garden. 

‘Yeah,’ said Billie heavily, ‘I’ll be fine. I’ve been back here since they left – just not for very long. And not to sleep a whole night.’

‘We don’t have to’ said Layla looking across at him, ‘It’s up to you’

Billie shook his head, ‘No, we’ll go in, it’ll be fine. You go in first, I’ll be right behind you.’ 

Layla nodded, getting out of the car and shutting the door. She didn’t mind leaving it unlocked, this seemed like a fairly safe neighbourhood to leave her car without the doors sealed for an hour or two. She walked away, leaving Billie in the passenger seat, collecting his thoughts. She found the gap in the tall hedge that held the garden gate and went through it into an expansive garden. She couldn’t help but let her mouth fall open a little. 

She got it, he was a rock star, but she’d never really thought about what that would mean in terms of his house. Or anything else for that matter. No one she’d ever known had lived in a house this big, and she had to stand for a moment to take it in. It wasn’t the size of some of the houses in Hollywood that she’d seen on TV, or some of the big houses down by the docks in San Francisco that she’d seen when the train had brought her in. She wondered how many bedrooms it had. She knew that Billie had two sons, so she was guessing that it was at least four. There were big windows on the ground floor, and she could see into a large kitchen from where she was standing. She turned around a little and saw that the house was well shielded from the road and couldn’t be seen. 

She walked up towards the porch and the front door, her bag slung over her shoulder. There were flower pots in front of the double door but they looked as if they hadn’t been watered in weeks and were mostly dead. She’d see if she could salvage any of those in a bit. She heard the gate creak and turned around to see Billie walking into the garden, his guitar slung on his back, his head bowed as he walked up the path. 

‘Your plants need watering’ said Layla with a shrug as he approached. 

Billie looked and couldn’t help but smirk, ‘I guess they do’ 

He rummaged in his pocket to find a key, finding it in the inside one and pulling it out. He moved past her to put it in the lock and open the door. It swung back to reveal a larger than average hallway, with several doors leading off it, and a double staircase in the middle leading to the upstairs floor. Layla didn’t quite know what to say as she stepped inside and looked around. Billie followed her inside and propped his guitar against the wall. There was dust lying thick on the cabinet to her left, but there was nothing here other than Billie’s things scattered around. 

Billie walked over to a door on the left, and opened it to reveal a living room. She followed him over and looked inside – there were two large sofas, a couple of chairs, a t. and a massive hi fi system. Billie waved his hand in the direction of the stereo. 

‘Put something on,’ he said, ‘It’s too quiet without it,’ 

She moved over to it and looked at the stack of vinyls in the bookshelf beside it. There were in genre order and she picked out two, to put on the player so that when one ended, the other would begin without pause. The first, an L7 LP, the other a record by Generation X. She turned it up and let the music fill the room and the downstairs level of the house. 

‘That’s better,’ said Billie coming over, ‘With music on the house feels less empty’ 

‘That’s good,’ said Layla, smiling up at him, ‘When were you last here?’ 

‘About a month ago,’ said Billie with a shrug, ‘On that I better go see whether there’s anything in the fridge’

‘Well if there is, it’ll probably be walking out by now!’ laughed Layla as he hurried away in the direction, she presumed, of the kitchen. She continued to look through the extensive record collection for a moment, looking at some of the rare titles that were there. She would have to listen to some of these if she ever got the chance. 

She wandered back through in the direction of the hallway, looking for Billie. She found him in the kitchen, hauling a bin bag in the direction of the back door. 

‘Something died in there then?’ she asked playfully. 

‘It fucking smelt like it,’ said Billie, leaning out of the back door and presumably putting the bin bag in the outside bin. 

‘Sooo…’ she said, putting her hands in her pockets, ‘Where can I find a shower?’ 

‘Oh yeah!’ said Billie, wiping his hands on his jeans, ‘Sorry!’ 

‘It’s alright,’ she said, ‘I’m just conscious that I’ve been wearing these clothes longer than I should of!’ 

Billie smiled, ‘Yeah, you do kind of smell’ 

Layla shoved him and he laughed. 

‘Come on then’ he said, ‘I’ll show you’ 

He walked into the hallway and up the stairs. Layla followed him, noting the picture hooks on the walls and the marks that showed where frames had once hung, protecting the wall from the sunlight of the upstairs hall windows. 

‘You can leave your stuff in here,’ said Billie, gesturing to a room on the left, ‘I’ll just find you some towels’ 

Layla walked into the room and looked about. There was a large double bed in here, along with a wardrobe and double doors leading onto a Juliet balcony. There was also an ensuite bathroom. It was nicer than anything she’d slept in before. She was extremely grateful to Billie for allowing her to stay here for the night. It was certainly going to be much safer than staying with Rudy. 

‘Here you go’ said Billie Joe, walking back in, laying two towels on the bed, ‘I guess you’ve already figured out that that’s the bathroom’

‘Well unless it’s some sort of kinky play room, I figured as much’ said Layla with a grin. 

‘If I had one of those I don’t think I’d have it adjoining one of the guest rooms,’ said Billie with a grin, ‘Alright, I’ll leave you be’

‘Thank you’ said Layla with a smile, ‘Thank you for doing this’ 

‘It’s nothing,’ said Billie, ‘Thank you for bringing me back here. It’s a lot easier to do with someone else here.’ 

‘You could of asked Tre or Mike,’ said Layla

‘And they would of come,’ said Billie, ‘But they know too much about it. They have memories of her, and of my boys. Their wives were her friends, their children played with mine. Having you here is different. You aren’t looking at the ghosts, because you don’t know what they look like.’ 

Layla nodded, ‘Alright. I see your point.’

‘Go on then,’ said Billie, ‘I’ll let you be’ 

Layla smiled as Billie turned to walk away, surprised when he turned back. 

‘What do you want for dinner? I’ve got to order in ‘cause there’s nothing in the fridge’ said Billie with a grin. 

‘I don’t mind,’ said Layla, ‘You decide. Just not pizza’ 

Billie chuckled, ‘Alright, not pizza’ 

With that he walked away, leaving Layla alone in the room. She pushed the door to behind him and turned back. She drew the curtains closed and peeled off her clothes, leaving them in a puddle on the bedroom floor. She grabbed the towels off the bed and walked into the bathroom. She delighted in the fact that there was a double shower – she’d not even had one of those when she’d lived at home. She stepped inside and turned the water on. It was instantly warm, and the pressure strong. She revelled in the feeling of the water running down her back and across her scalp, washing away the cares of the day. 

She reached for soap that had been left in the shower, and foamed it to a lather in her hands, beginning to wash her body. She took especial care along her ribs on the left side, where an ugly scar started, the skin pink and stretched, as it travelled towards her hip bone, stopping short by about three inches. It would never fade the doctors had said, but they had been amazed it hadn’t killed her. She traced her fingers along the skin, feeling the taut difference the soft skin of her belly and the smooth slightly ridged skin of the scar. She sighed, moving her hands from the offending part of her body and picking up the shampoo bottle that was sitting beside the tap. She’d been trying hard to accept the scar as part of her body, but trying to do something and actually doing it were two very different things. She pushed down the bile that rose in her throat and she scrubbed hard at her body, ignoring the pain as her skin protested the sudden roughness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to roxywrites for her lovely comment! It's so nice to hear from you! 
> 
> xx


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